The author of this "racially charged" language is none other than Obama's Diversity Czar Mark Lloyd himself. Here is what he said at the 2005 Conference on Media Reform: Racial Justice:

"This - there's nothing more difficult than this. Because we have really, truly good white people in important positions. And the fact of the matter is that there are a limited number of those positions.

"And unless we are conscious of the need to have more people of color, gays, other people in those positions we will not change the problem. We're in a position where you have to say who is going to step down so someone else can have power."

I find it equal parts troubling and incredible that in 21st Century America there could be anyone, much less a high-level federal appointee, who thinks the government should be forcing hirings-and-firings at private companies based solely on race and sexual preference.

Media Matters, evidently, is only outraged that someone would dare report the matter or ask America's opinion about it. Or maybe Media Matters thinks it is unfair to hold a presidential appointee responsible for something he said just four years ago.

O'Leary, however, did not include any of that background -- which the vast majority of respondents would have no knowledge of without it -- in asking his poll question, which was this:

Federal Communications Commission Chief Diversity Czar Mark Lloyd wants the FCC to force good white people in positions of power in the broadcast industry to step down to make room for more African-Americans and gays to fill those positions. Do you agree or disagree that this presents a threat to free speech?

Also problematic for O'Leary is that the question, as asked, is false. As we've noted, at no point does Lloyd advocate using the FCC to "force good white people" in the broadcast industry out.

O'Leary has only himself to blame for his false, out-of-context framing of Lloyd's statement. And he's a veritable laugh riot in coming to Zogby's defense:

I choose to do polling with Zogby because they've been among the most accurate pollsters for the past two decades. I find that Zogby does very well in balancing my questions to remove any conservative or other bias that may exist. When you're searching for the truth, it does no good to rig the outcome.

Not only is Zogby not an accurate pollster, his questions for O'Leary do, in fact, rig the outcome. For instance, here are some questions from an O'Leary/Zogby poll from February:

"Some people say that the nearly one-trillion dollars in debt and subsequent interest incurred by the stimulus bill during an economic downturn will make the recovery hard to achieve. Do you agree or disagree?"

"Some Republicans say the Obama stimulus package spends too much and stimulates too little. Do you agree or disagree?"

"Most Republicans oppose the currently proposed stimulus bill supported by President Obama because they say there is too much money being spent for non-stimulus items. Do you agree or disagree that too much money is being spent on items that won't improve the economy?"

A truly balanced poll would have included more points of view than those of "some people" and "most Republicans." But then, a guy who has written a book-length screed attacking Barack Obama is not actually interested in "searching for the truth."

November 20, 2009 6:27 PM EST ›››
ERIC HANANOKI

Tea Party Express co-chairMark Williams, one of the most visible spokespersons for the tea party movement, has repeatedly called his political opponents "faggot" on his blog.

In a December 26, 2007, post, Williams referred to former President Jimmy Carter as a "creepy little faggot":

On January 27, 2008, Williams wrote that members of a Vermont town shouldn't be called "retard CHUDs" but "genetically defective, circus freak, tiny cranium, hairy-arm-pitted female & faggot alleged male biological train wrecks who totally make the argument for forced Eugenics":

As we've noted, the Tea Party Express spokesman has also called President Obama and Jimmy Carter "Nazis," and referred to Obama as the "racist in chief." Williams is a birther who has forwarded claims that Obama was born in Kenya.

Despite his history of incendiary rhetoric, Williams is a regular guest on Fox News and CNN. For instance, Williams has appeared on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 at least six times in the past four months: November 2, October 26, September 15, September 14, September 10, and August 13. He also appeared on CNN Newsroom in August. On the September 14 edition of American Morning, reporter Elaine Quijano referred to Williams as one of the "tea party leaders" who "disavow[ed] any racist views" by protestors.

November 20, 2009 6:18 PM EST ›››
MEDIA MATTERS STAFF

Eighty advertisers have reportedly dropped their ads from Glenn Beck's Fox News program since he called President Obama a "racist" who has a "deep-seated hatred of white people." Here are his November 20 sponsors, in the order they appeared:

"Hoaxes. The Commission's prohibition against the broadcast of hoaxes is set forth at Section 73.1217 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 73.1217.

This rule prohibits broadcast licensees or permittees from broadcasting false information concerning a crime or a catastrophe if: (1) the licensee knows this information is false; (2) it is foreseeable that broadcast of the information will cause substantial public harm; and (3) broadcast of the information does in fact directly cause substantial public harm.

UPDATED: Rupert Murdoch can likely rest easy. The FCC regulates broadcast television and radio, outlets that use the public airwaves. But the FCC does not regulate cable television.

November 20, 2009 2:04 PM EST ›››
ERIC BOEHLERT

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday morning indicates that 38 percent of the public blames Republicans for the country's current economic problems. That's down 15 points from May, when 53 percent blamed the GOP. According to the poll 27 percent now blame the Democrats for the recession, up 6 points from May. Twenty-seven percent now say both parties are responsible for the economic mess.

So, in the last six months, the percentage of Americans who blame Democrats for the recession has inched up six points, or one point per-month. That apparently, accounts for the "shifting" trend that CNN highlights in its headline. Also, note that a clear plurality still blame Republicans for the recession.

So wouldn't this headline have worked and actually been more accurate:

November 20, 2009 12:43 PM EST ›››
ERIC BOEHLERT

On Thursday, the prevaricating Gateway Pundit claimed Obama went on CNN and bragged that, "I've restored America's standing in the world." GP then mocked "The Arrogant One" for his massive ego. But oops, that's not what Obama said. Here's what he said: "We've restored America's standing in the world." [Emphasis added.] A little different, right?

But it's been more 24 hours and Gateway Pundit, supposedly one of the leaders of the conservative blogosphere, has not updated his original post or headline, let alone posted a correction to acknowledge that yeah, he doctored Obama's quote.

Behold the right-wing blogosphere, where manufactured quotes, even those involving the POTUS, are welcomed!

November 20, 2009 11:19 AM EST ›››
ERIC BOEHLERT

President Obama sat down with Major Garrett for a few minutes in an interview that was aired on yesterday's (11/18/09) Special Report. It was straightforward, fair and respectful. But there was no mention of one of Fox News' biggest stories of late, President Obama's bow to the Emperor of Japan. If Fox News thought the bow so important that the network obsessed over it on multiple shows and gave it top billing on their Fox Nation website, shouldn't Garrett have asked about it?

Garrett's glaring omission raises two distinct possibilities. A) He was woefully unprepared for his Obama sit-down. B) He would have been monumentally embarrassed to even raise the foolish topic of the bow.

I'm going with B.

And just in case you're unclear about the massive amount of fooling Fox News did on the all-important bow story, just take a look: